My husband and I had dinner last night at the Great Western Hotel in Ballan. Our meal was delicious. Our entrees (croquettes and terrine) were delicious and beautifully presented and garnished. Our mains of lamb shoulder and barramundi were expertly cooked, served and exceeded our...expectations. The staff are friendly and service was prompt and competent. We were pleasantly surprised and recommend this venue highly. They deserve to be supported by locals and visitors alike.More

I've now given the Great Western 5 opportunities and each time has been an absolute disappointment. The meals are overpriced and in some cases have been inedible. Eating here is like flushing money down the drain.

Great little restaurant, with excellent service and great food. I stopped in for a quick late lunch of linguine marinara.

On Wednesday March 23 a friend and I had lunch at The Great Western Hotel in Ballan. My friend had previously managed a Winery Resort. For over 21 years on and off I have worked in hospitality, but mostly front of house, also in a...fine dining restaurant with service of alcohol, and a number of Cellar Doors. I’ve just finished working for two of the most high profile bottle shops in the country. Our first impression was the wonderful young man who served us, my impression, he could work in hospitality anywhere in the world, he’s an amazing young guy. Second impression, was the decor. My friend and I know the hotel well, what it has been turned into is a trendy welcoming pub you could likely find in Brunswick or Sydney’s funky Newtown. It’s brilliant. Then the food? It was amazing. First class!!! Won’t easily forget my gnocchi, and our other dishes were delicious. Well done all round guys, love your work.More

Cannot recommend them highly enough... absolutely perfect service and food...and I absolutely love the 70s cocktails...well done

Tripped over this place on the way back from Daylesford and what a surprise. Decor is stunning and the food is delicious. Found out it is owned by the same guys who own the Farmers Arms in Daylesford so no wonder is this good. A...MUST!!!!More

Easter Sunday family lunch at the Great Western was an absolute delight. The Dining Room is bright and comfortable and the staff are nice and friendly, very welcoming. The menu is mighty fine, not a huge range of choices but certainly something for everyone. The...meals were delicious, very generous, fresh and tasty. The scallop special with pea purée was an absolute winner, as were the two fish mains, whilst the Cape Grim steaks were melt in the mouth tender. A big, BIG tick for the awesome Banana Split! The wine list is commendable and includes some good old fashioned cocktails. There are plans for accommodation in the future, and a roof top beer garden. The Great Western Hotel richly deserves its growing reputation and we’ll be back very soon. PS great coffee too.More

Arrived at the Hotel for a lunch on a Friday, without a reservation, which was not a problem. Shown to our table and a local wine recommended which was superb. Ordered the cob loaf and entree of pulled pork sliders and my husband ordered the...steak sandwich. The cob loaf was hot & then our other meals arrived in a matter of no time. Pleasant and helpful staff, especially Olivia who was friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. The food was delicious and the entree was exactly the right serving size for my meal. The steak sandwich was tasty and satisfied my husband’s appetite. We thought we may have the desert, but we were more than happy with the size of our meals. Will definitely be back for another meal. After chatting with the venue Manager I would definitely suggest making a reservation for evening and weekend meals. Worth diverting off the highway for.More

I originally complained to owner who simply doesn’t care. Apparently this is common knowledge in town. Locals dont matter only after tourist $ & Our group all reside locally. We were seated in the back room, there was a total of 35 people in that...area. I could not leave the table without having to interfere with another table. The noise level was excessive due too many people in the back room. We were like sardines having to yell to have a conversation. our group was uncomfortable & hot. I felt like I was in a 1980’s Coles cafeteria. We were up sold a bottles of sparkling water we didn’t ask for!!! We were charged $20 for a prawn cocktail with 3 prawns. The prawns had black spotting on the tails, they were not fresh the salad was not fresh either. There was alot of confusion & mistakes with meals, to the point we had to note was was & wasnt being ordered & received by our table. At $50 for 250g steak we expected it to be warm/hot, meals came out cold, over salted? Dishes were ere piling up all through out the night. Ordering of drinks was a complete shambles one person in our group ordered a glass of wine 3 times before receiving it. Errors on the bill, overcharged. Our bill was over $1000 and we dont mind paying for quality but this was not a quality night or experience. Rather I spent the night dealing with many issues nonstop it was exhausting, Food lacked in quality, charging $7 a prawn is way over the top.More

A disaster of a night, drinks were not made correctly, wrong meals came out, not cooked correctly, chat potatoes were raw. Salad was stale, two people in our group didnt get their meals, staff are incompetent, over charged. Management dont care. The commercial down the...although not fancy is 100 times better.More

This is a popular place to dine in Ballan. The service was good the food good but with limited range and the prices expensive for what you get.

Lovely staff, quirky decor, good range of food on the menu and excellent range of beers. Go there , it’s a really good place!